Estonian defmin: Withdrawal from EU not to impact UK's activity in NATO

TALLINN, Jan 09, BNS - Withdrawal from the European Union will not impact the activity of the United Kingdom in NATO, Estonian Minister of Defense Juri Luik told the "Aktuaalne Kaamera" newscast of public broadcaster ERR on Tuesday.

Rather, the British are emphasizing their role in Europe through defense policy, the minister added.

"There will be a large military exercise in summer -- the so-called JEF, an UK-led exercise of the naval component of rapid response forces in the Baltic Sea, including the ports on the coast of Estonia," Luik said.

The minister added that the recent animated events in US domestic policy, including the resignation of Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, does not mean that the activity in Europe will be hindered.

"The work that Mattis did will last. He put on the table a national defense strategy that says that the main enemy of the Americans is no longer terrorism but Russia and China, large countries with a practically equal military power to the US," Luik said.

The minister said he is convinced that Estonia must procure the medium-range anti-tank missiles itself. Luik has previously said that defense spending must be increased to do that. Additional aircraft and radars are already tied to the resources of the allies. And here, too, Estonia cannot manage without the United States.

The US Congress is currently anticipating a report from the Pentagon on how it would be practical to organize Baltic air defense.